Chapter 318: 167. Heresy Inquisitors -1 (Part Two)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

King Jayner Frants smiled wryly at that and replied, “From this moment on, we at the Kingdom of Frants will not hold back on our support of the Theocratic Empire. Also, if you so wish, we shall not interfere in the slightest in the handling of this Farmer incident, Your Holy Majesty.”

“That means you will turn a blind eye to whatever I’m planning to do?”

The King of Frants expressed his silent consent with a slight nod of his head.

Seran behind me softly whispered, “Please keep it at a level where the citizens aren’t harmed unnecessarily.”

The corners of my lips curled up as I replied to her, “I’ll do my best.”

Yes, this was all for the sake of their innocent subjects, and since the devil-worshippers weren’t really included in the category of ‘innocent subjects’, it should be fine.

—

I left the audience chamber and was guided to the state guest room, while the twins returned to their own private quarters.

Only Seran accompanied me, and after we arrived in my temporary quarters, she ordered the maids to bring us some tea.

I picked a scenic spot by the room’s balcony and settled down on a chair there. The Ariana Citadel was located on top of a hill, and the state guest room was located on the castle’s top floor, so I was afforded a pretty great view of the entire Duchy.

The hours were getting late, yet I still could see the King Zayner Frants climb aboard a carriage and leave the citadel. In the distant villages, I could see the torches belonging to the Paladins and Duchy’s soldiers going on patrol.

Seran asked me, “It’s rather tiny compared to the Empire, isn’t it?”

“The soldiers are working hard, it seems.”

“Ng. Everyone is doing their best. Sometimes, Marvel and Marcel also accompany them on patrols, but it’s still tough.”

“Hang on, those twin brothers of mine also do that?”

“Their growth might be slower due to the High Elf’s Blessing, but their skills are still excellent, after all. They can respond instantly if a vampire decides to show up.” Seran sat opposite me, and began pouring the red tea a maid had brought in into our cups. She stared at me as if she found something rather entertaining. “By the way, how are you planning to find them? The devil-worshippers, I mean. Of course, the Order of the Crimson Cross features the absolute best vampire hunters in the whole of the Theocratic Empire, but that’s the tale when they are acting as Heresy Inquisitors, isn’t it?”

As she implied, the members of the Crimson Cross were specialised in pursuing heretics. Sure, their discerning eyes might be excellent, but it wasn’t as if they could see through everything.

“In the beginning, I was thinking of using my holy undead,” I replied. My plan was to summon up some holy undead and share my Mind’s Eye with them. “However, I figured that there is no reason to put the already worried citizens even more on edge.”

That was why I had thought up a new plan.

“So, I’m now thinking of bestowing a miracle on the members of the Crimson Cross tomorrow.”

“A miracle?” Seran tilted her head.

“Yes, sister. A miracle,” I smiled brightly back at her, then got up from the chair.

Leaning against the railing, I took a look below the balcony. The Crimson Cross members could be seen down there, currently inspecting and maintaining their equipment. Their weapons came in all shapes and sizes, such as scythes, saws, spears with barbs meant to restrict and bind the movements of their targets, and even shovels. You know, the scary kind.

“I’m planning to bestow on them the eyes of a god.”

Seran’s head tilting only increased after what I said.

I looked back at her and continued further, “Your innocent subjects will not be harmed. But if they do end up in trouble, then it’s most likely because they happen to be family members of the devil worshippers.”

“…”

“There’s not much that can be done about that, if such things happen. I would like you to be aware and understanding of such possibilities.”

Seran went silent after listening to me. It was her way of expressing her consent in silence.

I shifted my gaze back to the city and the surrounding villages of the Duchy, then narrowed my eyes. “Things might get a bit rowdier… tomorrow.”

———–

The next morning…

I was staring at the fifty members of the Order of the Crimson Cross.

These folks, clad in their distinctive crimson robes and hoods, as well as the bird-beak masks hiding their faces, were kneeling in front of me, their heads deeply bowed.

“All of you, remove your masks.”

They obediently took their masks off. The revealed faces displayed a wide range of ages, ranging from the early twenties to even the late fifties.

Not stopping there, they even possessed all sorts of different talents as well. Assorted Runes could be seen tattooed on their faces and necks using the powder of Eltera.

That was the Aztal Rune. With his ability, Hans could’ve tattooed the Runes far more discreetly, so that they wouldn’t show. But the Crimson Cross members all felt honoured and proud to be the recipients of the word of god, so they requested that the Runes be fully visible at all times.

Their faith, and their undying loyalty to the Imperial Family, could easily be measured from this.

The corners of my lips curled up as I took a good look at them. It was now time to use their faith.

I thought about what a religious con man might say in situations like this one, then opened my mouth. “From this moment on, I shall reveal to you a portion of my powers.”

The members of the Crimson Cross looked at me, their eyes stunned.

Not minding them, I began rousing my divinity. The Aztal Rune tattooed on my face and the rest of my body responded, and the golden Runes began glowing to life upon me.

“I shall grant you eyes that can differentiate between normal people and the devil-worshippers.”

As if to react to what I said, the golden Runes were also engraved on the members of the Crimson Cross.

‘Ability Transfer, activated!’

At that moment, holy golden lights shone from within the eyes of the Crimson Cross members. Their brows slowly rose in astonishment.

Their eyes urgently shifted around to look at the Paladins standing nearby. Doing that showed that they should be able to see it.

The ‘it’ being, of course, the name, age, attributes, and beliefs of the person they were now looking at.

“That’s right. Now you all possess the eyes of a Saint.”

What I had done here was to temporarily grant them the [Mind’s Eye].

Their jaws were falling to the floor.

“Oh my gods…”

“This, this is…!”

They should be feeling confused and stunned right now. Not only did they gain access to the target’s information, but even the deepest thoughts bubbling away inside, as well.

The members of the Crimson Cross, their expressions completely frozen up, looked up at me. Even their previously hard, uncaring faces slowly melted away, the corners of their lips curling up in sheer excitement.

They looked enraptured, their expressions now clearly filled with madness.

I asked them calmly, “What can you see?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty. We can see the names of our targets, and their beliefs!”

It seemed that unlike me, they could only see a portion of the information. The age and attributes seemed to be missing. That made some sense when I thought about it, since the Aztal Rune wouldn’t be so ridiculously overpowered as to transfer the Mind’s Eye in its totality.

I asked them once more, “What can you see about me?”

“Reporting, sire. We do not see anything from you.”

Now that was very satisfactory.

The Mind’s Eye wasn’t effective on the original player, me. Well, it was meant to be used against the NPCs in the game, after all.

I looked at the Crimson Cross with considerable satisfaction, then spread open my arms wide.

“Now that you have experienced it…” I asked them. “What do you think about the miracle of the gods?”

The Crimson Cross members began shuddering deeply. They brought their hands together to pray quickly, as if their faith had grown even firmer.

Sure, I did feel a bit guilty for exploiting their deep faith, but this result should be considered a good one since they were all visibly happy.

“And so, let us begin.” I smiled with my eyes as I addressed them. “It’s time to subjugate some heretics.”

**

“Each of you will form a squad. One Crimson Cross member will take command of one Paladin and ten regular soldiers!” I shouted out while walking past the Crimson Cross.

They began mounting their horses, one by one.

The Paladins of the Duchy of Ariana stared with some awe and respect at the people donning the crimson robes and hoods as well as their bird-beak masks.

“If you find someone suspicious, capture them. If they are indeed devil-worshippers, then they should be stained by their wickedness and unhealthy obsessiveness!” I also mounted a horse and continued to roar my commands at them. “Their very own thoughts will prove to be the sure-fire evidence that they are our enemies!”

That’s right, no one would be good enough to fool the Mind’s Eye. And that included vampires as well, so there was simply no way that a human would prove to be an exception to that rule.

“Go and hunt the demon!”

The Crimson Cross members all pounded their chests with their fists and roared out, “We shall obey the command of Your Majesty, Holy King Allen Olfolse-!

“We shall not fail in subjugating and punishing the devil worshippers-!”

They soon led the troops of the Duchy away and scattered through the city’s streets, as well as into the surrounding villages.

And so, the Heresy Inquisitors possessing the Mind’s Eye began their hunting of the Duchy’s heretics.

Fin.